Working at a big store, like Walmart, Target, or Best Buy, can be a blessing and a curse. While you get to have some pretty good discounts and even get some good products, you also witness some things you wish you didn't. Plus, customers can be cruel to retail workers.
But, those who have lived through it are now telling the best kept secrets so we can all find out the juicy good stuff!
"In the early 1990's, there would be a before shift circle-jerk "Pep" circle at Wal-Mart. People hold hands and recite pledges to be the best Wal-Mart employees. There may have been a prayer and / or a song also. It ended with everyone holding hands and jumping in the air," said one Reddit user.
Another person shared that there are laws, depending on where you live, that dictate how long a promotional price can be displayed, as a sale, before it actually becomes the normal retail price. Eventually, it comes the sale price in the end.
"Worked at Target and if there is any price dispute at all with what's rung up and what is posted they will take the customers word for it (within reason) for example I worked in the food and we had meat for sale at 2.99/lb the sticker on the food said /lb but the signage in the aisle said '2.99,'" shared another person.
Another person shared that working in the warehouse of these kind of stores is pretty fun, if you have a good boss. One guy's boss would "accidentally" slice open a bag of chips or box of cookies so the product was now "defective" and they had to "dispose" of it.
"Many of the Black Friday deals are items made with inferior quality compared to the original product. They change the SKU number to protect themselves legally," shared another employee.
Welp, there goes the excitement of Black Friday! Too bad, so sad.
"Walmart regularly hires people to work full-time hours but calls them part-time so they don’t have to give them benefits. They say you’ll be working 25ish hours per week and then book you for 40 and say it’s 'temporary.' It’s not," shared another person.
A former JCPenny's employee shared that the store will take back basically anything, even if you don't have a receipt with you. One woman even wore a pair of pants so much that they had a hole in them, and she "returned them because she was mad about the hole."
AND, they took it back!
A former Toys R Us employee said that there were specific toys that would "creep up" in price around the holidays, then go on sale. So, the sale was really the original price, but the price had gone up for a few weeks just in time for the holidays.
"You really should probably wash your new clothes before wearing them. I spent a year doing overnights at Target in softlines (the backroom aisles of clothing, shoes, and baby), and when I'd wash my hands at the end of the shift, the water would truly be deep charcoal gray," said one retail worker.
A former Macy's employee shared that mostly everything in their inventory is on the store floor. If someone says they will "go check in the back for you," it's really so that they can get some free time for a moment or two and breathe.
"Wal-Mart has a customer satisfaction guarantee and will return just about anything within reason, even well past the warranty.
The magic words are 'That's it, I'm calling 1-800-WALMART' if you are being given a hard time as they will nearly always override the store," shared another person.
A current Target employee said that just about every single camera in the store has "facial recognition" software, so basically if you are in Target and doing anything that's suspect, you best believe you are going to be caught!
"I worked at Wal-Mart for a year back in the day. They spent an insane amount of money and time keeping the sales floor clean and organized. The back room on the other hand was a hoarders dream," shared another person.
Another person shared that they mark up jewelry that they get for dirt cheap. For example, if the ring was $999 and on sale for $800, you think you are getting a deal, but the store actually got the ring for around $99. So, you totally are scammed either way!
"Stocked shelves at Petsmart.
The people you see in the aisles stocking shelves are hired to stock shelves, not give vet advice. I had so many customers ask me things like Will Purina Proplan be healthy for my dog to eat? 'or 'What's the best dog food?'
Lady, I make ten dollars an hour, ten hours a week," shared someone else.
